A Dunkin Donuts and Taco Bell franchisee has agreed to pay more than $1.5 million to settle an investigation by the city that found the coffee giant systemically violated local scheduling laws at 24 Manhattan and Queens locations, Commissioner Sam Levine of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection will announce Monday.
A two-year probe by DCWP found that Salz Management LLC, the Dunkin Donuts and Taco Bell franchisee, arbitrarily changed workers’ schedules and failed to give workers schedules with 14 days notice, in violation of the city’s Fair Workweek Law.
Salz Management also failed to obtain consent and pay premiums for so-called “clopening” shifts, in which the same employee both closes a store at night and opens it again the next morning, DCWP found. The company also failed to offer newly available shifts to existing employees before making new hires, in violation of city law.
Salz Management will pay more than $1.5 million in restitution to 760 workers and an additional $155,000 in civil penalties. The Jericho, Long Island-based company’s franchise portfolio also includes Wing Stop, Wendy’s and Baskin Robbins, according to their website.
On Monday, Levine is also set to announce an additional settlement against Theory, the upscale fashion retailer, for violations of the same scheduling law. Theory agreed to pay more than $277,000 to approximately 60 workers across two Manhattan locations and more than $21,000 in civil penalties and costs.
“A reliable schedule is one of the most basic rights that New Yorkers have in the workplace,”
said Levine. “With these actions, we are sending a clear message that compliance with the city’s workplace laws is not optional.”
Spokespersons for Salz Management LLC, Dunkin Donuts, Taco Bell and Theory did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The amount that each eligible employee will receive depends on a variety of factors. At the Salz properties, some employees are eligible for as much as $7,000 in restitution, while at Theory, employees are eligible to receive up to $14,000, according to redacted copies of the consent orders that were reviewed by THE CITY.
The settlements that Levine announced Monday stem from investigations that began under his predecessor, Vilda Vera Mayuga. In December 2025, she and then-Mayor Eric Adams announced a similar settlement with Starbucks stemming from violations of the same city law.
The terms of that $38 million settlement, the largest of its kind in New York City history, revealed the coffee giant violated the law more than half a million times since 2021, logging violations at all but one of its New York City locations, the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Chelsea.
But it is Dunkin Donuts that reigns supreme among coffee shops in New York City. The Canton, Mass.-based chain boasts 623 stores in the city, and in 2025 for the first time surpassed the amount of Starbucks locations in Manhattan.
Fast food workers who believe their scheduling rights have been violated can file a complaint to DCWP through the agency’s online portal or via email.
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